Smoking During Pregnancy

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

Smoking during pregnancy facts

Tobacco smoking in pregnancy is dangerous for both mother and baby.

The
harmful chemicals from tobacco smoking are passed directly to the baby through
the mother's bloodstream.

Effects of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke
during pregnancy include increased risk of stillbirth and
miscarriage, an
increased risk of low birth weight, and an increased risk of premature delivery.

How does smoking affect a pregnant woman and her baby?

Tobacco smoking affects both mother and baby and poses health risks to both.
Smoking during pregnancy puts the baby at risk for health problems during the
pregnancy and after the baby is born. Nicotine and all the harmful (and
cancer-causing) products inhaled from the tobacco enter the bloodstream of the
mother and are passed directly into the baby's circulation through the placenta.
Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 harmful chemicals, over 70 of which are known
to be carcinogenic (cancer causing).

Some of the known health effects on the baby include:

A decreased supply of oxygen available to the baby

Increased risk of
miscarriage and stillbirth

Increased risk of poor growth and low birth weight

Increased risk of premature delivery

Increase in the heart rate of the baby

Increased risk of breathing problems in the baby

These risks to the baby increase with the number of cigarettes smoked during
pregnancy. Of course, tobacco smoking is also harmful to the mother, increasing
her risk of cancers, cardiovascular disease,
emphysema, and other conditions.

Secondhand Smoke and Children

Exposure to Secondhand Smoke May Lower Children's IQ

A study shows that children who are exposed to tobacco smoke in the home
may have lower IQs than their unexposed peers.

Environmental tobacco smoke has already been definitively linked to a number of medical problems in
children, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), colic, middle ear disease, worsening
of asthma symptoms, and other respiratory problems.